Best of 2000: Best Place For A Rooftop Sunset Barbecue

Seacoast Inn
800 Seacoast Drive,
Imperial Beach
(619) 424-7556 or
(619) 424-5183

There is no better ocean view, period. Not if you like to see as much ocean as you can. The blue-and-white stucco Seacoast Inn doesn't look remarkable, but it is, in two respects: It's right slap-dab on the ocean, and it's the last beachfront hotel this side of the border. But the best thing is that, unlike most hotel penthouses, this one doesn't cost the moon. As well as the usual sitting room, bedroom, and kitchen, you get a huge, open ocean-view deck and outside barbecue facilities, all for $250 or $300 weekends during winter months ($50 more if you want to rent the master bedroom.) So, okay, the Seacoast isn't Hilton. And I.B. ain't La Jolla. But heck, the ocean's just as big and blue. The hotel often rents out the penthouse to families holding reunions or buddies getting together for a picnic. Five can put in $50 each and you've got yourselves a primo party site. And up here with the Coronado Islands, Mexico, and Point Loma on your doorstep, people just lean on the balcony and go "Wow!" Best time is sunset; if you're ever going to see the green flash, this is the spot.